Bookrack



Dec. 4, 1951 Ez.l B. BERGEVIN BOOKRACK Filed May 25, 1950 Patented Dec. 4, 1951 f-'l y UNITED STATES-'f PATENT oFFlcE BOOKRACK Bernie B. Bergevin, Lonf,r Beach, Calif.

Application May 25, 1959, Serial No. 164,179

2 Claims. l

` YMy invention relates to the ileld of supporting devices, and more particularly to a book rack adapted to hold a book at a convenient vertical `angle for copying or reading purposes.

Although numerous book racks and supports vhave been devised and marketed in the past, the

majority of these devices are ,clumsy in appearance, not adapted to be carried by the user from place to place, and as a result of these disadvantages have not been widely used.

A major object of my invention is to provide a -book rack that will eliminate the above named 'disadvantages by being attractive in appearance, light in weight, can be easily transported from place to place, will have a relatively simple mechanical structure, can be fabricated from inexpensive material, and hence retailed in the lowpriced merchandising field.

Another object of my invention is to supply a vbook rack which will hold the book situated there- 'in at a convenient vertical angle for copying or reading material contained therein, and due to the convenience of the device will increase the usage of book racks among students and professional men.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the fol- ;lowing description of a preferred form thereof,

and from the drawing illustrating thatl form in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational View of'my book rack; y Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device; and I Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the device.

Referring now to the. drawing for the general arrangement of my invention, it will be seen that the device includes a book supporting member M having two laterally spaced legs L pivotally mounted on the rearward portion thereof, and a pivotally supported shelf S that serves to maintain a book in the desired position on the upper surface of the member B.

The member B as can best be seen in Figs. 1 and 3 includes a rectangular portion I 0 having two laterally spaced legs II, with each of the legs extending downwardly from one of the lower outer portions thereof. Although the member M can be fabricated from any rigid light-weight sheet material, I have found it desirable to use one of the numerous synthetic plastic materials which is adapted for this purpose. From the standpoint of attractiveness in appearance, itis preferable that the plastic materials be transparent and highly colored. As the member B merely supports the book positioned thereon, the interior 2 portion of the member may have an oval openin I2 formed therein, or an opening of such other shape as the manufacturer or retailer of the device may so desire.

The shelf S as may be seen in the drawing formed from an elongated member I3 having a lower edge that is parallel to the bottom edge of the member I0, and an upper edge of an ornamental shape that adds to the attractiveness of the device. The shelf S is pivotally supported between the legs II by two horizontally disposed screws or pins I4, with each of the screws engaging one of the legs I0 and a bore formed in the outer portion of the member I3. A rectangular opening I5 is formed in the upper central portion of the shelf S, and has a bore extending outwardly fro'm each of the vertical side wall portions thereof. A book engaging member I6 is pivotally supported in the space between the legs I I by having a horizontal shaft portion Il formed -on each side thereof, with the shaft being rotatably mounted in the bores leading from the side walls of the openings I5. The central portion of the book engaging member I6 may be of any desired ornamental shape, although I prefer a horizontally positioned loop portion which is supported from L-shaped members which are -bent downwardly from the shaft portion I'I. In Fig. 2 it will be seen that when a book B, shown .in phantom line, is resting on the upper surface of the member M the shelf S is pivotally posi- 'tioned to be substantially normal to the member M, with the member I6 extending upwardly therefrom to engage the central leaf portion of the book and prevent the leaves being blown or otherwise displaced from the desired position. In Figs. 1 and 3 it will be seen that two laterally spaced strips 2B are screwed to the rearward portion of the member M, with each of the strips having a horizontally positioned eye 2| and 2Ia formed on the ends thereof. Although I have shown the strips being affixed to the member M by screws 22, it will be apparent that the strips may be cemented or otherwise aixed to the member. Extending through the upwardly positioned eyes 2l, and being rotatably mounted therein, ls a horizontally positioned rod 23 which has a downwardly positioned member 24 formed on each end thereof. The lower end of each of these members 24 is provided with a pivotal connection 25 which engages a horizontally positioned pin 26 extending outwardly from one of the legs L.

Each of the legs L includes a rod member 21 having a ball portion 28 formed on the lower end thereof, with the ball 28 being the portion of the leg L that engages a table surface on which my device rests. By the use of a ball member 28 or similar smooth member on the lower portion of the leg L, the danger of scratching a highly polished table or desk on which the device rests is reduced to a minimum. The upper portion of the leg L is provided with a horizontally positioned bore through which a pin 29 extends, with the pin engaging a bore formed in a member 30. In Figs. 1 and 3 it will be seen that each of the members 30 is pivotally supported from the member M, by being formed on the outer end of a horizontally positioned rod 3|l which extends through and is rotatably supported in the tWo downwardly positioned eyes 2 la.

In Fig. 2 the legs L have been pivoted to a stable book rack supporting position, with the support M having the book B resting on the upper sur# face thereof, and the shelf S preventing the book from sliding downwardly from the rack. Upon it being desired to collapse my device into a substantially flat article that can be carried by the user from one place to another, the legs L are pivoted in a clockwise direction on the pins 26 until the members 30 have moved through 180 and are again in contact with the lower surface vof the member B. As this occurs, each of the legs L moves upwardly into contact with the lower surface of the member B, and the members 24 likewise move downwardly to occupy a similar positon in contact with the lower surface of the member B, and being situated adjacent to the legs L.' The shelf S is pivoted upwardly from its book holding position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 1 where it is on the same plane as the member B. Prior to the shelf S being pivoted upwardly into the above described position, the book engaging member is pivoted inwardly in a counter-clockwise direction to occupy a position in the same plane as the shelf S.

The operation of my device is extremely simple. Upon the user of the device arriving at a table or desk at which he desires to study or read, the collapsed rack is positioned on the desk by pulling the legs L outwardly and then moving them :inwardly to a position whereby the members V30 :move through an angle of 180. The shelf S is now rotated outwardly to occupy a position sub'- stantially normal to the member B, and the book B shown in phantom outline in Fig. 2 placed on the device. The book `B remains in a stable position, with the leaves being held in the desired vopen position by the book engaging member I6 ibeing pivotally moved into contact therewith. To

collapse the device into a carrying condition-the above described operation is simply reversed.

Although the above-described book rack is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred form of my invention, and that I do not mean to limit myself to the details herein shown and described other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible book rack which includes: a book supporting member; a plurality of laterally spaced strips aixed to said member, with each of said strips having an eye formed on each end thereof; a U-shaped member pivotally supported in said eyes; two legs, with each of said legs being pivotally joined to one of the arms of said .Ll-shaped member; a second U-shaped member pivotally supported in the downwardly positioned eyes, with the arms of said member being pivotally connected to the upper portions of said legs; and a shelf movably supported from said book supporting member, with said shelf when positioned substantially normal to said member holding a book in position thereon. l

2. A collapsible book rack which includes: a book supporting member; a plurality of laterally spaced strips affixed to said member, with each of said strips having an eye formed on each end thereof; a U-shaped member pivotally supported in said eyes; two legs, with each of said legs being pivotally joined to one of the arms of said U-shaped member; a. second U-shaped member pivotally supported in the downwardly positioned eyes, with the arms of said member being pivotally connected to the upper portions of said legs; a shelf pivotally supported between legs formed on the lower portion of said book supporting member, with said shelf when positioned substantially normal to said member preventing REFERENCES CITED The following references are of rec'ord'in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 879,770 Hoffman Feb. 18, 1-908 1,269,925 Gauntt June 18, 1918 1,554,211 i Halevy Sept. 22, 1925 2,041,017 Pennington May 19, 1936 

